by Bernadette A. Sahm

I continue to be amazed at just how much “stuff” we have accumulated through the years. Things that we just had to have and purchased. Today we are streamlining all that we own. We recently found a good home for our piano that we purchased 27 years ago. It was a beautiful upright Baldwin piano that we purchased brand new for almost $5,000. It lived in our dining room for almost three decades. Letting it go was all about “let someone else enjoy it” and we just love the new found open space that its absence has created. Knowing it found a new home where it will be played and enjoyed makes us happy.

In the past few years we have rented two large dumpsters and filled them up with junk and things that no one wanted or would want. We have taken multiple trips to donation centers for both household items and clothing. Giving it away for free in hopes that someone else could use it and enjoy it.

Marketing firms target younger people for many purchases. Now that we are older, we think more about what we spend our money on and do we really need it. Do we want to manage more “stuff” and often the answer is no, not now.

Giving is for the giver! There is so much joy and happiness tied to our ability to give. Letting go of the things that we once held and doing so that someone else may enjoy it just feels so good.

What are you hanging onto that you no longer need or want, what if letting it go makes someone else happy and they can use it and enjoy it?

As we approach the “giving” gifts and the season of gratitude, what gifts do you possess that could so easily be shared and in doing so make another person happy?

Bernadette on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/bernadetteamoyer